Advancements in consumer electronic devices have led to a wide variety of such devices that may be powered from an AC power source, such as an electrical outlet in a home. Many of such devices are placed in an off/standby mode when turned off. In the off/standby mode, these devices typically continue to require some power and draw some current.
Some devices may continue to perform certain operations even when turned off or in a standby mode. For example, a set top box (STB) may receive programming signals and other information related to the programming and/or the operation of the STB while on. It may be monitoring its receiver or other input even when the STB is in an off/standby mode. As one particular example, programming information in the form of an electronic program guide (EPG) and/or firmware updates may be received by the STB when in the off/standby mode so that the EPG and/or firmware of the STB may be updated for use when the STB is next turned on by the user.
Other devices may be completely idle and perform no operations when turned off or in a standby mode, possibly other than to “wait” for a command to turn on. However, in either case, the power supply of such electronic devices may continue to consume power or energy whenever connected to a power source such as an electrical outlet, for example, plugged in. This may be the case regardless of the operating mode or state of the electronic device.